Photos of NASA's Huge Falling Satellite UARS

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Deployment

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite hangs in the grasp of the Remote Manipulator System against the blackness of space during deployment from Space Shuttle Discovery, September 1991.

RIP UARS: Final Ocean Grave of NASA Satellite

Credit: NASA

This map shows the ground track for UARS beginning in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa at 0330 GMT and ending at atmospheric interface over the Pacific Ocean at 0401 GMT. In this map, UARS' path is shown beginning in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa at 0330 GMT and ending at atmospheric interface over the Pacific Ocean at 0401 GMT.

Ralf Vandebergh's Ground-Based Views of Tumbling UARS Spacecraft

Credit: Ralf Vandebergh

Astrophotographer Ralf Vandebergh captured the UARS spacecraft tumbling through space, and noted: "Through the clouds I was able to grab just enough frames for an image of UARS on Sept 17, in the week before the expected reentry. Note the striking yellow (golden) color of the elongated main body and some smaller detail with different colors. Due to the shift, (maximum 62 degrees altitude), the distance was still over 270 km."

Falling NASA Satellite UARS - Adrian New Skywatching

Credit: Adrian New

Skywatcher Adrian New captured this image of NASA's falling UARS satellite as it flew over San Antonio, Texas at 9:20 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 23 (0120 Sept. 24 GMT).

Video Captures UARS Satellite Tumbling in Space

Credit: Thierry Legault

Thierry Legault is part of a network of skywatchers armed with sophisticated astronomical gear to monitor the whereabouts of spacecraft.

UARS Re-Entry Ground Track

Credit: NASA

The ground track of NASA's UARS re-entry shows where the defunct satellite was passing over just before it fell to Earth. The circle presents the most likely point of landing, which probably occured around 12:16 a.m. EDT (0416 GMT) on Sept. 24.

NASA's Falling UARS Satellite Explained (Infographic)

Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor

Get a snapshot view of NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), which will fall to Earth in 2011, in this SPACE.com infographic.

Recent Orbital History of UARS

UARS in Grasp of Remote Manipulator System

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite hangs in the grasp of the Remote Manipulator System during deployment from Space Shuttle Discovery, September 1991.

NASA's UARS Satellite

Credit: NASA

NASA's UARS satellite, which was decomissioned in 2005, and is now on the verge of falling back to Earth.

UARS Preflight Processing

Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) technicians, wearing clean suits, prepare the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) for the installation of the high-gain antenna on the instrument module.

Basic Components of UARS

Credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

These two diagrams detail the basic components of NASA's UARS satellite.

Downrange Spread of Surviving Debris

Credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

This graph indicates what UARS components might be expected to fall to earth and their relative locations.

UARS Satellite in Orbit

Credit: NASA

An artist's concept of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) satellite in space. The 6 1/2-ton satellite was deployed from space shuttle Discovery in 1991 and decommissioned in December 2005.

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Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Deployment

Credit: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite hangs in the grasp of the Remote Manipulator System against the blackness of space during deployment from Space Shuttle Discovery, September 1991.

RIP UARS: Final Ocean Grave of NASA Satellite

Credit: NASA

This map shows the ground track for UARS beginning in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa at 0330 GMT and ending at atmospheric interface over the Pacific Ocean at 0401 GMT. In this map, UARS' path is shown beginning in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa at 0330 GMT and ending at atmospheric interface over the Pacific Ocean at 0401 GMT.

Ralf Vandebergh's Ground-Based Views of Tumbling UARS Spacecraft

Credit: Ralf Vandebergh

Astrophotographer Ralf Vandebergh captured the UARS spacecraft tumbling through space, and noted: "Through the clouds I was able to grab just enough frames for an image of UARS on Sept 17, in the week before the expected reentry. Note the striking yellow (golden) color of the elongated main body and some smaller detail with different colors. Due to the shift, (maximum 62 degrees altitude), the distance was still over 270 km."

Falling NASA Satellite UARS - Adrian New Skywatching

Credit: Adrian New

Skywatcher Adrian New captured this image of NASA's falling UARS satellite as it flew over San Antonio, Texas at 9:20 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 23 (0120 Sept. 24 GMT).

Video Captures UARS Satellite Tumbling in Space

Credit: Thierry Legault

Thierry Legault is part of a network of skywatchers armed with sophisticated astronomical gear to monitor the whereabouts of spacecraft.

UARS Re-Entry Ground Track

Credit: NASA

The ground track of NASA's UARS re-entry shows where the defunct satellite was passing over just before it fell to Earth. The circle presents the most likely point of landing, which probably occured around 12:16 a.m. EDT (0416 GMT) on Sept. 24.

NASA's Falling UARS Satellite Explained (Infographic)

Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor

Get a snapshot view of NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), which will fall to Earth in 2011, in this SPACE.com infographic.